The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in China confirmed that it will intensify efforts to stabilize the area planted with grains and increase crop productivity, in an attempt to achieve its grain production goal for 2024. According to the People's Daily Online, China has experienced a 1.3 percent year-on-year increase in grain production, reaching a record level of 695.41 billion kilograms in 2023.
Ban Wenbo, Director of the Crop Administration at the ministry, emphasized during a press conference held in Beijing that "the ministry will make every effort to ensure that grain production in China in 2024 remains above 650 billion kilograms. To achieve this goal, the ministry will focus on stabilizing the agricultural areas dedicated to grain production and increasing productivity per unit in order to achieve progress in production and overall stability of the area, along with improving the quality and structure of grain varieties."
He added that "the ministry has developed plans to mitigate agricultural disasters, establish emergency response centers equipped with sufficient supplies, and allocate experts to guide disaster relief operations to reduce losses for producers."
